Episode 64: Bare Naked Bravery

Emily Ann Peterson is a Singer, Songwriter and best selling author. When this podcast was recorded, Emily was in her national book tour for her best selling book, Bare Naked Bravery!

Five years ago Emily was a professional cellist when she was diagnosed with a condition that changed her life.
The lack of stability and tremors in her hand meant that her life altered: as a cellist this meant that not only her entire career changed, but she also felt that she was grieving for her identity.

Over a period of 6 weeks, Emily discovered that she had a lot of other creative skills she could dig into. This included songwriting, starting a podcast and talking to other people who showed bravery – enter Bare Naked Bravery!

So what is bravery? Emily has found that there are 3 forms: internal, external and resonate bravery.

Emily says that bravery isn’t something that just happens, but is almost like a muscle that develops over time to strengthen.

About Our Guest

Emily Ann Peterson

In 2013, Emily Ann Peterson was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological hand tremor, which forever altered her two-decade livelihood as a cellist/cello teacher. Refusing to lose her life’s love of expression, she knew she’d have to be brave. In an act of neurological defiance, she expanded into wider mediums and broke through her creative glass ceiling, opening the door to limitless possibilities through songwriting.

Her book Bare Naked Bravery: How to Be Creatively Courageous helps people from all walks of life understand what bravery really is – allowing them to step into it by creatively using vulnerability, imagination and improvisation. Her podcast, Bare Naked Bravery, features conversations with everyday heroes and creative entrepreneurs about the quiet successes and loud failures required to do the brave things for which we know and love them. Alongside the podcast, Emily also facilitates a Facebook group that offers a welcoming, safe community for creative misfits to finally find belonging and acceptance.

Emily writes for people who struggle to remember what hope feels like and sings to those who yearn for something secret. She speaks to those who are done being bored and crave all things beautiful, strong, sacred, and sensual. Her goal is to inspire a global resonance and magnanimous community through the marriage of art and whole-person development.